VPD says crime, safety, trending in right direction in Hastings Street decampment area

Vancouver police say despite a large number of weapons that continue to be seized from the Hastings Street encampment, issues of crime and safety in the area are "trending in the right direction" since tent removal began two weeks ago.

VPDspokespersonSgt. Steve Addison made the comments during a media show-and-tell of weapons and propane tanks seized from the sidewalk structures erected by unhoused people.

"On one evening shift alone last week, our officers seized 18 different weapons throughout the encampment zone in just a short period of time. These are things like daggers, brass knuckles, a baseball bat that was modified with electrical tape and pieces of metal to make it weighted on the end," he said.

Addison said the 18 weapons came from two or three people.

On April 5, city workers accompanied by police began removing tents and structures in the East Hastings Street and Main Street area of the Downtown Eastside. It was the culmination of months of tensions over the encampment and the fourth major removal of a tent city in Vancouver in as many years.

Addison noted the Atira Women's Society, which operates in the Downtown Eastside, reported that 50 out of 50 women surveyed had been subjected to violence, including sexual assaults, within the encampment.

But DTES housing advocate Fiona York said the VPD is misrepresenting the data by using it to suggest the decampment has made things better for vulnerable women when most don't have a safer housing alternative.

"It's propaganda. It's just so obvious that they're trying really hard to justify the actions that took place on April 5th and the massive amount of funds that were spent on that operation and the continuing operations," said York."[Women] are just being pushed out of the community into more and more dangerous places and situations," she said.

Alice Kendall, executive director with the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, said the decampment isn't solving the problem of violence against women.

"There's no solutions in this approach. People need housing, They need to be safely housed in an appropriate space that meets their needs. That's what needs to happen in order to to keep women safe."

WATCH answers audience questions on the tent removal:

Addressing your questions about removing homeless encampments in Vancouver

1 year ago

Duration 2:18

CBC News takes audience questions and comments about tent removals to the experts.

The spokespersonfor Vancouver Fire Rescue said almost 2,000 propane tanks have been seized to date. Matthew Trudeau said workers continue to collect tanks from the encampment area at a rate of 10 per day.

"We're still seeing a number of propane tanks and a number of structures that are up against buildings, and the concern again is the health and safety of the people in and around the area," he said.

According to Trudeau, there were 143 outdoor fires, 15 tent fires and four fire injuries in the three months fromJanuary to March. He said in the two-week period between April 6and April 18, there were no tent fires or injuries.

Addison said street-level assaults increased 27 per cent over the first nine months of the encampment, with more than two people assaulted per day. He said surrounding neighbourhoods saw a 67 per cent increase in robberies and a 21 per cent increase in arson.

"We know that the progress that we've made could all go out the window and could be reversed with just a couple of bad days. So we're committed to stay the course and do what needs to be done to restore a sense of public safety."